Play Called Off

That's it, folks. Mum Nature and her sodden mood have had the first and final say. We'll try again on Sunday, for the second, in Colombo, where it'll hopefully be considerably less wet. Cheers.

The cut-off time is 20:00 local time. That's more than three hours from now. We hang on in hope - for a pseudo Twenty20 clash of sorts.

You guessed it. Still raining. Unfortunate, yes. *Twiddles thumbs*. Some unrelated news, meanwhile: Surrey have signed South African Test skipper Graeme Smith on a three-year contract - and offered him the captaincy. He will continue to play international cricket, though.

The rain is even heavier now, and that cut-off time draws steadily closer. Ever hopeful of play, though, we continue to hold thumbs.

We should've been at least five overs into the match by now, but it's still raining, and the players are yet to arrive at the ground. Covers all over the place, and no break in the gloomy overhead conditions in sight. Bleak, indeed.

Wet, Wet Wet

More rain in Pallekele, and plenty of it. The toss, scheduled for right now, isn't going to happen at all soon. And so the wait begins at 14:00 local time (08:30 GMT).

Greetings

Hello and welcome to our over-by-over commentary of the first ODI of the five-match series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.